Campaign to raise £75,000 for one in a million Jordan who bravely decided to have his leg amputated

Finola Fitzpatrick

A £75,000 fundraising campaign has been launched to transform the life of an extraordinary 17-year-old boy from Ripon, who made the brave decision to have his left leg amputated through the knee just two months ago.

A student at Harrogate’s St Aidan’s and St John Fisher Associated Sixth Form, Jordan Teodori-Faith has Proteus syndrome, a genetic condition so rare that it is estimated to affect just one in one million of us.

Jordan Teodori-Faith.

Characterised by the overgrowth of bones, skin and other tissues out of proportion to the rest of the body, Proteous took away Jordan’s ability to walk unaided by the age of four, and caused a major spinal deformity which needed two 10 hour surgeries and a full year of rehabilitation to correct.

After having multiple unsuccessful surgeries on his left leg to try and stop the overgrowth, he made the remarkable decision to have it amputated.

Now, we all have the chance to get behind Jordan and help him to raise £75,000 for the life-changing gift of a prosthetic leg, which would make his dreams of playing sport and leading a more active life come true.

Proud of her son’s incredible strength, Emma Faith said: “As a family, we are absolutely in awe of him, he is extremely positive. Having the prosthetic leg would make a massive difference to him, absolutely huge. It would mean that he can do what he wants.

“I think it is a difficult age to be at, image is a massive thing nowadays, to feel comfortable in your own skin. His friends have enabled that and helped him through things, and the school has been great.

“He doesn’t want to be treated any differently, he just wants to be the same as anyone else. He wants to do sport, wants to do rock climbing, running, riding a bike - all these things that are normal everyday things. He wants to go to uni, and doesn’t want to be the boy on crutches.

“The NHS is brilliant and has come on leaps and bounds, but this prosthetic leg would mean he can not only walk, but also lead a really active life.”

Jordan missed a school year due to illness, but his sheer determination secured the GCSEs he needed to get into sixth form, and is already thinking about studying photography at university.

Jordan said: “One of my biggest things is I want to travel and feel comfortable. I don’t want to be on crutches.

“Mobility is a big motivator, just to be able to go out and do everything I have always wanted to do."